Altia-ABM is pleased to announce today the key speakers for SOCEX 2018. The Serious and Organised Crime Exchange conference, now in its eighth year, will bring together the leading national and international authorities on law enforcement, criminal investigations, and the prevention of organised crime.

Ben Wallace, Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime at the Home Office will be joined by Nikki Holland, Director of Investigations for the National Crime Agency and Andy Cooke, QPM, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council Programme Lead for Serious & Organised Crime, as keynote speakers. From the US, John Clark will be speaking about the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children while from Canada Ryan Prox will outline his work in crime analytics for the Vancouver Police Department. Also attending are several of the country’s chief constables and leading academics specialising in criminal and forensic research.

Andy Cooke, QPM, Chief Constable of Merseyside Police and the National Police Chiefs’ Council Programme Lead for Serious & Organised Crime is chairing the conference this year. He said:

“There is no other event that gathers together the UK’s prominent policing and law enforcement leaders to exchange ideas and develop new and innovative strategies to take us into the next decade and further improve our collective response to the growing threat from serious and organised crime.”

The theme of the 2018 conference is the global to local impact of serious and organised crime, reflecting the fact that international criminal gangs can have a devastating impact on local communities.

Altia-ABM, along with Think Different Events, founded SOCEX and Altia-ABM continues this year as its principal sponsor.

Ian Watson, CEO of Altia-ABM said:

“Once again we have the best minds in law enforcement gathering at SOCEX to discuss the challenges posed today by serious and organised crime. We are proud to continue to sponsor SOCEX and we know that previous events have led to changes in the way that law enforcement agencies collaborate and interact. This is a perfect forum for networking, sharing best practice and the development of ideas. Our thanks to Andy Cooke QPM for acting as Chair. We are delighted that SOCEX continues to go from strength to strength.”

Ben Wallace, Minister of State for Security at the Home Office will speak about how collaboration between partners can prevent the full spectrum of serious crime from 'traditional' threats such as drug trafficking to 'newer' threats such as cyber-crime, modern slavery and child sexual exploitation.

Sue Gregory from Everton In The Community will talk about Everton Free School - the first school run by a Premier League football club, taking on students who have not been able to stay in mainstream education. The school is an example of how innovative approaches can work to prevent vulnerable young people in difficult circumstances drifting into crime.

Other topics covered during the two-day conference include human trafficking, youth engagement, reducing the impact of organised crime in local communities, the Home Office’s strategy for prevention of serious and organised crime, child exploitation, criminal use of drones, management of sensitive intelligence, organised immigration crime, cyber-crime and digital forensics.

The list of speakers includes:

Ben Wallace, Minister of State for Security and Economic Crime at the Home Office

Nikki Holland, Director of Investigations, National Crime Agency

John Clark, President & CEO, US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC)

Altia-ABM was established in 2002 in Glasgow and has established a worldwide customer base for its financial analysis, investigation and intelligence products. The group’s customers in the UK include every British police force, in addition to HMRC, the Department of Work & Pensions, the National Crime Agency, the Home Office, Trading Standards, local authorities, the Gambling Commission, plus forensic accountants and insolvency practitioners.

The firm’s rapid growth is enabling further expansion to customers in Canada, Australia, South Africa, the US, Hong Kong, New Zealand and South America.